Growing Cape Gooseberry, also Golden Berry, Inca Berry

Physalis peruviana : Solanaceae / the nightshade family

Jan F M A M J J A S O N Dec
              S S S S S
                T T T T
              P P P P P

(Best months for growing Cape Gooseberry in Australia - temperate regions)

  • S = Plant undercover in seed trays
  • T = Plant out (transplant) seedlings
  • P = Sow seed
  • Easy to grow. Sow in garden. Sow seed at a depth approximately three times the diameter of the seed. Best planted at soil temperatures between 10°C and 25°C. (Show °F/in)
  • Space plants: 100 - 150 cm apart
  • Harvest in 14-16 weeks.
  • Compatible with (can grow beside): Will happily grow in a flower border but tends to sprawl over other plants.

Your comments and tips

07 Apr 17, Steve (Australia - temperate climate)
try giving it a heap of Blood & Bone
02 Feb 17, Otzi (Australia - temperate climate)
I'm no expert but they like a bit of water. This year with a wet spring our plant got going better than previous. yellow lower leaves, either no light there or needs bit more water. Too much fert. can push leaves at flower expense. Dropping blooms often because a heat burst or insufficient water. I would venture it may be too hot in Broome. Here Melbourne it grows just fine but in open dappled shade. Ours is about 1mt. by 4mts. These outer spreaders die after fruiting. Still need good soaking every day in summer 28-38*C. Oh.. I would seek a higher authority than Bunnings for tricky probs. -- Just reread post. Two weeks, forget it. the y. leaves is as stated. Seedling history in tough conditions. Do prune late winter to tidy up.
23 Dec 16, Noni (Australia - temperate climate)
I have a cape gooseberry bush growing in a pot. Should I prune it at some stage, it is very straggly.
24 Dec 16, John (Australia - temperate climate)
Cape Gooseberry can be cut back. Remove all spindly, twiggy growth to a main stem then shorten the main stems back to the size you want the plant. You would normally do this in the spring before the main growing period to maximise yield but some judicious pruning now won't hurt. Trust this helps.
30 Nov 16, Mary (Australia - temperate climate)
Glenn today I bought seeds at Bunnings - in the Johnsons "world kitchen" brand.
10 Nov 16, Shirley Hardke (Australia - temperate climate)
I bought a plant at Bunnings and it had fruit but died - seeds germinated and my second plant had heaps of fruit but they always fell off before fully ripe. My plants don't grow high but my Mum's used to be 100cm and never wilted as mine did. She kept the fruit in onion bags hanging on her patio until she had enough to make jam. I plan to do the same as i have enough fruit now. My problem is that my plants whither and die, look more like a ground cover in height while my Mum's were tall and lived on from year to year.- are there different kinds of Cape Goosberries
10 Feb 17, Otzi (Canada - Zone 2b Sub-Arctic climate)
Cape Gooseberry's can dry off in drought and or heat bursts and don't like wet ground, rather moist free draining. water daily in heat. Excess or even any fertiliser can reduce blooms. seems these plants thrive on neglect. Just keep moist. My problems start when I try to improve things, or if you prefer, when I think I'm helping. And now early Feb (Melb) the plant is well done.
27 Oct 16, Michelle (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
Hi. I have one cape gooseberry fruit, husk dry. Di I plant it whole or open it and spread seeds?? Important that it grows as it is a treasure my grandson was given at school in gardening class. Thank you.
25 Sep 16, Kay (Australia - cool/mountain climate)
I'm in Tassie and have cape gooseberries both in my greenhouse and the garden. Our possums love them but they have to beat our grandchildren to them. I encouage the kids because they are so full of vitamins and help keep the colds away. They pop up in the blue metal in our driveway all the time as well although I do find they are difficult to move successfully. I'm yet to make jam - too many possums/grandchildren.
24 Sep 16, Fiona Waddell (Australia - temperate climate)
Hi I ve just discovered we have a cape gooseberry plant growing behind our shed... it has randomly appeared and is almost a metre high. None of the fruit have grown any bigger than a $2 coin and havent ripened. It is currently in the ground but I was wandering if I should move it? To full sun or whether i should collect the dropped fruit for seeds?
Showing 161 - 170 of 392 comments

If well taken care of, more than 20 years.

- Astrid

Please provide your email address if you are hoping for a reply


All comments are reviewed before displaying on the site, so your posting will not appear immediately

Gardenate App

Put Gardenate in your pocket. Get our app for iPhone, iPad or Android to add your own plants and record your plantings and harvests

Planting Reminders

Join 60,000+ gardeners who already use Gardenate and subscribe to the free Gardenate planting reminders email newsletter.


Home | Vegetables and herbs to plant | Climate zones | About Gardenate | Contact us | Privacy Policy

This planting guide is a general reference intended for home gardeners. We recommend that you take into account your local conditions in making planting decisions. Gardenate is not a farming or commercial advisory service. For specific advice, please contact your local plant suppliers, gardening groups, or agricultural department. The information on this site is presented in good faith, but we take no responsibility as to the accuracy of the information provided.
We cannot help if you are overrun by giant slugs.